W  e  s  t  D  i  s  t  r  i  c  t  of the Scottish Bridge Union

Bridge is Good for You It has stimulated the minds of Honor Fraser, Sting, Omar Sharif and the late Dame Barbara Cartland. Even members of Blur and Radiohead apparently like to play a set or two as they chase that "mental buzz". A once-fashionable society card game bridge is now more recognisable as the pastime of millions of pensioners. Now new research has shown that aside from attaining that "Bridge high", playing the game may also boost the immune system and actually keep you healthy. As Dame Barbara, who lived to 98, once said: "Once you get old, you've got to use your brain. All my friends are either dead or gaga. Why? Because they don't use their brains." Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley found elderly volunteers had significantly higher numbers of immune cells in their blood after a game of bridge. The experiment was the culmination of 15 years work on rats and mice by Prof Diamond. She found that the dorsolateral cortex - the outer layer of the brain which is involved with abilities such as working memory, planning ahead, and initiative - had a connection with the thymus gland, an organ in the chest which produces vital white blood cells called T-cells. Inspired by her findings, Prof Diamond decided to see if there was a similar connection in humans and chose Bridge for her study as it was a game tailor -made to influence the dorsolateral cortex. Blood samples were taken from 12 women, all in their 70s and 80s and members of a Bridge club in Orinda, California, before and after they had played a one -and-a-half hour Bridge set. The tests found that in eight of the women, levels of "helper" T-cells, which direct the activity of other cells which produce antibodies including "killer" T-cells that destroy foreign invaders, had increased significantly after their game of bridge. Prof Diamond said a follow-up study should involve using a brain scanner to see if the dorsolateral cortex showed greater activity during bridge playing than when at rest. She said she hoped the discovery might lead to ways of educating the brain to improve health. Dr Alan McCruden, a lecturer in the Department of Immunology at Strathclyde University, said yesterday: "I don't find the results unbelievable. I would think the concentration in bridge might influence direct neural effects on the immune system. "We would suggest the immune system is affected by physiological outlook and mental stimulation. People with a sense of control in their lives seem to have less illness." Adam Dunn, publications executive at the English Bridge Union, which has 32,000 members, said: "Bridge stimulates the brain massively, and it's a game that requires great logic. There's so much to learn that you can't do it in a lifetime. "The best players in the world are still continuing to learn new things. It doesn't surprise me there's some positive consequence of the brain stimulation you get from playing bridge."